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It Is All To Easy For Us
To Blame
Our Financial Problems On The Economy!
In last weeks newsletter we discussed how you can
help families to live the 'American
Dream!'
Do you remember the stats from the recent CareerBuilder report (7/2017)?
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78% of full-time workers said they live paycheck to
paycheck... up from 75% last year.
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71% all U.S. workers said they're now in debt... up from 68%
a year ago.
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56% said they are in over their heads with debt.
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56% save $100 or less each month.
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About 18% of workers said they cut back on their 401k
contributions or personal savings in the last year.
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More than one-third don't put any money away for retirement.
I think these stats are extremely scary. But,
what is even more scary is that most people are blaming their
problems on our struggling economy... lack of good paying jobs,
rising costs of the essentials, etc.!
Most people are unwilling to take
responsibility for their financial situation.
“Man must cease attributing
his problems to his environment,
and learn again to exercise his will – his personal
responsibility.”
Albert Einstein
Here is a recent article that I found, that
should help you put things into perspective for you and your
clients.
Remember it all starts with you!
Are you you taking responsibility for your
financial situation?
8 Common Excuses People Use to
Avoid Financial Responsibility
By Carol Morgan
We would all love to be millionaires. But let’s
face it, most people never make it that far. Most of us stall
somewhere around the middle class. And that’s not too bad
considering the fact that half of the world’s population lives
in poverty.
Our culture values money and possessions - almost
to the extreme. This fosters a ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ (or
Kardashians) kind of mentality. People want to be rich - or at
least look like they are rich. Because of this, many people make
irresponsible choices when it comes to their finances, and many
of them make excuses for it. Here are eight of them that I have
witnessed from many people:
1. I can just live off of
credit cards.
You do realize that at some point you will have
to pay that money back, right? And you will probably have such a
huge balance that you will never pay it off. So then you might
think, “Well then I can just declare bankruptcy. No big
deal.” Well, guess what? Not only does bankruptcy ruin
your credit for a very long time, the debt just doesn’t
magically disappear. Someone pays for it. And who is that? The
rest of us. The companies you don’t pay will have to raise their
prices to make up for the loss - higher prices that we all have
to pay. Or maybe taxpayer money will go into paying off your
debt. However it works, it all comes down to one thing: not
taking personal responsibility.
2. I need to impress everyone.
This is deadly. As I said in the opening
paragraph, many people do have this need. However, what is the
point? Just because you don’t live in a huge house or drive a
fancy car doesn’t mean that you aren’t successful. In fact, I
bet most of the people who do own all the ‘rich-looking’ stuff
are really drowning in debt. Wouldn’t it be better to live in a
modest house and drive an average car knowing that you can sleep
at night because you are not drowning in debt? I think that
sounds like a better option.
3. I always scream, “YOLO!!!!”
(You Only Live Once).
I’m not sure if most adults have heard this
‘Yolo’ term, but it’s one that kids tend to be using these days:
“You only live once!” And that is true (unless you
believe in reincarnation). But while that term implies living
life to the fullest and embracing the moment, that way of
thinking can get you into trouble of you don’t think about the
consequences of your actions. If you rack up a pile of debt so
big that you will have to spend the next 10 lifetimes paying it
back, well, maybe you shouldn’t ‘live in the moment’ quite so
much.
4. I can’t invest my money - I
might lose it because it’s too risky.
Many people are scared to invest money - it’s
almost like we’re wired that way. True, any investment is risky.
However, if you are investing for retirement or for your
children’s college tuition, then that is a very good reason to
take the plunge. As the saying goes, “Nothing ventured,
nothing gained!” So if you are avoiding a strategy that
could grow your money into a nest egg in the future, then maybe
you should rethink your actions.
5. I don’t think money is
important.
If you’re thinking, “Money isn’t
everything!” then you are probably being financially
irresponsible. Of course money is important! But if you think
that it isn’t, then you have an attitude of carelessness. If you
don’t think money is important, then you won’t pay attention to
how or where you spend it. And this lack of attention will get
you into trouble.
6. I’m already in a ton of
debt, so what’s a little more?
That attitude is what got you into the mountain
of debt in the first place. Little by little, one small purchase
after another adds up to one big mess. It’s kind of like eating
a whole birthday cake in one day, bite by bite. Each bite seems
harmless. But as you slowly eat your way through the whole cake,
suddenly you ate just that - a whole cake. Remember that each
step along the way stacks on top of the last and eventually they
add up.
7. I deserve to have nice
things.
Many people think things like this, “I work
really hard, so I deserve to have the best!” So, they go
out and buy things they can’t afford. For example, I know a guy
who always had to have the “coolest” and “most
expensive” car because he wanted the best. But guess what?
Eventually, his finances got to the point where he had to
downsize everything. So if you are like him, it might be best to
start out small before you end up in financial ruin like he did.
It would be as easy as doing something like buying a reasonable
used car. You can do some simple research using a car buying
guide and find one that would be just as nice but with a much
lower price tag.
8. I like to buy things on
credit because I can take a long time to pay them off.
This is like the ‘lay away’ mentality, but you
actually get to enjoy the thing you bought. Yes, a house usually
takes 30 years for most people to pay off. Cars take around five
years. Those are normal purchases that we expect to have to pay
over time. However, those are necessities. Some things you buy
probably aren’t. If you find yourself thinking,
“Hey, it might cost $5,000, but the payment plan says I only
have to pay $20 a month...so apparently I can afford it!”
Well, maybe you really can’t.
Financial responsibility is really the same as
personal responsibility. You just need to be self-aware enough
to know that your actions have consequences, not only for
yourself, but for other people as well.
“A sign of wisdom and
maturity is when you come to terms with the realization that
your decisions cause your rewards and consequences.
You are responsible for your life, and your ultimate success
depends
on the choices you make.”
Denis Waitley
There is a saying that goes, “When the
student is ready, the teacher appears.” The truth is,
when you are ready to really evolve and mature and move towards
the life that you really deserve... and you are willing to do
whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, then all of a sudden
the right teacher materializes just for you.
Are you willing to take responsibility for your
financial future, and your career? Do you really want to be
helping people? Then we are here to help you!!!
Yours In Success,
Jeremy Nason and Alex Villa
'The 9 Out Of 10 Guys'
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